Yard MD: Landscaping shrubs put on their best show during fall

Sep. 19, 2013

Fall is the best time of year to plant shrubs and trees. Here, a smoke bush transforms into a fiery autumn color. / Rob Zimmer/Post-Crescent Media

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For beautiful fall color, as well as rich texture that can only be provided by woody plants, shrubs in the yard and garden come to life in fall.

The selection of shrubs available to landscapers and gardeners today is nearly unlimited, and the choices can be overwhelming. Visit a reputable nursery in your area to help you weed through the selections to find what will work best in your location.

For the best effect, choose a variety of shrub shapes, sizes, forms and types. Whether you select formal plantings of a single variety of shrub or a beautiful tapestry of textures and colors, adding shrubs to your landscape is a wonderful fall gardening activity.

Fall is one of the best times of the year to plant shrubs and trees as the cool weather and stable temperatures allow the plants to become well-established before the first hard freeze. In our area, shrubs and trees can be safely planted through October, even into November. This also allows you to take advantage of clearance sales that local nurseries and garden centers often hold at the end of the season.

When purchasing shrubs, be aware of the plants you are buying. Many garden shrubs and small trees become heavily overused, and have been classified as invasive plants in Wisconsin, meaning they readily escape cultivation in the garden and invade woodlands, forest edges, and other native plant communities.

Take, for example, common buckthorn, which today is one of the most ferocious and despised invasive plants in the state, smothering vast sections of native forest. Fifty years ago, this was a beloved backyard ornamental shrub. Many varieties of buckthorn are still sold today, some of which may be just as invasive 50 years from now.

For a quick sampler of just a few of the hundreds of varieties of shrubs and small trees available for landscaping, here are a few of my favorites. As you shop, you will find dozens more to tempt and tantalize your green thumb.

Witch hazel

With its spectacular and unusual blooms that may last well into winter, native witch hazel is a spectacular fall shrub. Itís large, irregular leaves glow bright, lemony yellow for weeks during September and October. The yellow, waxy flowers begin to appear in early October and cover the branches right through winter. There are some cultivated varieties of witch hazel that begin to bloom as late, or early, as January or February.

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Ninebark

There are many varieties of ninebark to choose from, including many that are native to our area. Among the most popular are the Diablo series, which features extremely dark purplish or blackish leaves.

Many of the ninebarks retain their rich, deep coloring, which can range from deep maroon to near-black, throughout the growing season. In fall, the small leaves hold their color well, or transform into fiery shades of fall color. These are great shrubs for all areas of the yard and garden, with their vertically splayed, arching canes lined with a multitude of wonderfully textured, richly colored leaves.

Smoke bush

The structure and leaf pattern of smoke bush, along with its elaborate flowering display that lasts from spring right through the winter season, make smoke bush, or smoke tree, a wonderful landscape plant. The leaves grow outward and slightly upward from each branch, circling the stem in a symmetrical pattern with the smallest leaves at the tip of the branch, growing larger as you move downward.

The delicate, beautifully textured flower clusters appear in summer, and dry nicely in fall, lasting through winter until strong winds shred them from the tree.

Black lace elderberry

A large, woody perennial that serves its purpose as a shrub in the garden, black lace elderberry is one of the most beautiful, elegant and striking garden plants available. With its sprawling branches, as well as its dangling umbrellas of flowers, followed by berries in summer and fall, black lace elderberry has it all.

Mother lode juniper

An interesting, spreading, ground-cover conifer, mother lode juniper provides four seasons of rich golden color in the landscape. Like many of the ground-hugging, spreading junipers, Mother Lode makes an interesting carpet of gold during autumn, especially. Plant it where it can flow across and over rocky ledges or borders, providing a flowing stream of bright fall color.

Roses

Just about all of the shrub roses make wonderful fall landscape plants. Most roses continue to bloom or rebloom during autumn, and their textured foliage often turns a deep scarlet, orange or golden yellow, beginning in late September and lasting sometimes into November. Depending on the weather, roses may bloom into December.

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Blueberry

Growing blueberries in the garden has many benefits, besides just the obvious. While most gardeners would not think of blueberries as a plant for fall color, blueberries are a great choice. These plants turn wonderful shades of yellow, orange, and deep red, along with purple and pink, making them one of the most colorful shrubs available for the yard and garden.

Ginkgo

With itís unusually shaped, fan-like leaves heavily covering every twig and branch, the ginkgo tree is a star of fall in the yard and garden. As October begins, the ginkgo begins to transform from its soft, satiny green summer color to a brilliant golden yellow. Some trees carry a distinct orange blush.

Redbud

This small tree, which is a well-known spring-flowering wonder, also is one of autumnís biggest stars. The twigs and branches, which in spring were covered with a multitude of tiny pinkish purple flowers, now boast clusters of pea-like seedpods that hang from the branches. The large leaves of redbud transform into beautiful shades of fall color beginning in late September and lasting through October.

Weeping larch

A member of the tamarack family, weeping larch brings an elegant, asymmetrical form to the standard pyramid-shaped larches. In fall, the needles grow a brilliant gold as the shrub or small tree prepares for winter. Larches are the only evergreens that shed their needles each autumn. In addition to the weeping variety, there are many other larches available to gardeners.

High bush cranberry/viburnum

A double dose of extreme fall color is provided by this fantastic shrub. Large clusters of cherry red berries, along with its distinctly shaped leaves transforming to brilliant scarlet make this a stunning fall addition to your landscape.

Tiger eyes sumac

From spring right to fall, this shrub provides a full growing season worth of dramatic presence in your landscape. Wine red stems and leaf bracts hold sprawling umbrellas of golden yellow foliage that turns brighter and blushes with crimson.

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Barberry

There are many varieties of colorful barberry shrubs available to landscapers and gardeners. These bring spectacular fall color that ranges from golden yellow to fiery orange to deep crimson red. In addition, large plumes of tiny red-orange berries fill the shrubs in fall, lasting throughout the winter months.

Barberries come in many different growth forms, including low growing, spreading shrubs, medium-sized round, ball shaped shrubs, as well as tall, vertical pillar type shrubs. Some barberries have been classified as invasive woody plants, so be sure to do your research before purchasing.

Burning bush

Burning bush is one of the classic shrubs for fall color. For most of the year, the shrub retains a neat appearance, with well spaced leaves on vertical stalks. With full sun, these leaves transform into a rich blend of flaming fall color come October. Still popular today, this plant has been identified as one to watch by wildlife biologists as a potentially invasive plant, as it readily escapes cultivation.